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Chillicothe Council Hears about Snow & Trash Trucks

Beth Neal said she can't eat out without hearing about a lack of street clearing. She says so many residential streets have never been plowed, there are cars encased in ice - and city residents deserve better.

She said some streets have been impassible, and there are concerns about access for emergency vehicles.

Neal says she can't find fault with city crews, though. She says they have done what they can with the equipment and staffing they have...but there's a better way to do it.

She said "Doing nothing to clear residential streets should NOT be an option."

Mayor Everson responded that he was already working on plans and strategies to deal with any snow emergency...especially the chronic severe weather that has even damaged city equipment.

Auditor Luke Feeney outlined the new plan to get two trash trucks this summer.

Back in 2012, council had planned to get one trash truck in 2013...which was delayed to 2014, with a second in 2015. But Auditor Luke Feeney says, with a lone water treatment plant re-fi coming up, now is the time to act.

He says the city can buy two now and finance their $300,000 with the refinancing.

So they'll be ordered soon, in March. The truck would be delivered early June. He says the first payment won't be due until March 2015, when the city will need to decide how much to pay of the financing.

Feeney says Council will probably act quickly with a probable special meeting to discuss the matter more and give it a second reading, and a third reading and passage in late February.